Metamorphosis (The Two Moons of Rehnor, Book 7) Read online

  "Uh huh." I studied his face, which had turned red from the excitement of meeting me. Then, I glanced in his eyes which were a clear and almost colorless grey. "Are you sure we haven't met before? You're not Jerry's cousin from New Jersey?"

  "Nope. Although, I honestly wish I was. It seems like it would make all of you feel so much better if I was related to the famous Dr. Waldman. I've seen him once or twice, and I've been accused of being his twin, but nope, I'm just me, Michael Silverman."

  "Well, nice to meet you, Michael Silverman," I said and offered him my hand. He looked at it as if he couldn't believe it was actually mine.

  "I have another confession to make," he declared emphatically. "From the first moment I saw you, I've had a terrible crush. That was a long time ago, and I confess, it's never gone away." He giggled nervously in a voice that was way too high.

  "That's nice," I said in an equally high voice. "I should really head to the cockpit now. I bet Zork needs my help, so I'll see you later."

  "Not if I see you first." Michael Silverman pointed his finger just as Taner arrived to make the formal introduction.

  "I see you've been introduced to Dr. Silverman, Caroline's new physician," Taner said as the ship began to glide away from the spacedock.

  "Dr. Silverman." I nodded as the Capital Planet drifted away again. "Yep, we are now acquainted and good friends."

  "Just call me Michael," the doctor said and tried to make a little bow, but just then, the ship lurched and he ended up falling. He knocked me on the floor which sent Taner scrambling to pick me up. The ship pitched and the three of us were all tangled together.

  "Just stop moving!" I snapped as I tried to push myself away, though both of those men were now piled on top of me.

  "Are you alright, Madame?" Taner struggled back to his feet.

  "Does anybody see my glasses?" Dr. Silverman cried, crawling on his knees and patting the floor with his hands. "Without them I'm blind as a bat. Oh gosh, I'm in a mess of trouble now."

  "Just stay there," I snapped again, and climbed to my feet as the ship pitched and rolled. "Sit down, hold on, and let us look before your glasses get broken. The ride is going to be a little bumpy for a while until we clear the star's gravitation pull. An old ship like this doesn't have the modern stabilizers like all our new ships."

  "Your glasses are over here," Taner called as he reached under a bench seat. "Here Michael, put them on. Do they feel alright to you?"

  "Yes, thank you.” The Doctor sighed as he put them back on his face. "I swear, I can't see a darn thing without them. Honestly, I’m as blind as a bat."

  "We got that." I nodded and headed for the bridge, waving for Taner to follow me there. There was something about that doctor I didn't like. With Caroline's life at stake, I wondered what we were doing with this bumbling fool. "Taner, are you sure this is the right decision, taking Caroline all the way to Omega Centauri? Isn't there another treatment that our own SdK doctors can try?"

  "Caroline trusts Dr. Silverman." Taner smiled, but his eyes gave away his real opinion. "She most emphatically wants to follow his advice. I can't convince her to do anything else."

  "It'll work." Dr. Silverman followed us, even though he wasn't invited. He straightened the crooked red bow tie around his neck. "At least, I think it will. Probably, but then, on the other hand, it might not."

  "Uh huh. You're instilling massive confidence in me."

  "I'm glad, Madame." Dr. Silverman smiled. "Can I call you Katie? You can call me Mike if you like."

  "Uh huh," I said again and ducked into the cockpit to sit with Zork.

  Chapter 11

  Zork

  "I mean it, Andy. These boxes of yours aren't going to hold out much longer. We really are going to have to go in for service if you can't get your circuits under control."

  "Now Zork," Andy scolded, appearing in the form of an old man. He had a long white hair and a long white beard that he tucked into his prominent waist. "I'm doing the best I can, but I'm not as quick on my feet any more. In my younger days, I could fix everything in a snap. Today, I need to take my time and rest my old chips when I start to get weary. Back in the day when I was nothing but a wee subroutine, I was the fastest process around. Ho boy, there wasn't a process that could come even close to me."

  "Andy," I moaned. "I've got seven passengers aboard, and you can't even keep the refrigerator running. The forward head is out of service as the vacuflush is plugged and I'm afraid if we dip in to that worm tunnel, the fire suppression system will go off again. The last thing I want to do is spray all my passengers with foam. Can you at least try to stabilize yourself until we get to Omega Centauri?"

  "I'll try," he continued in his tired old man's voice. "Now what was it that you wanted me to stabilize? I've forgotten already."

  "That's it," I declared. "We're going to have to pull over and be serviced. We'll be a few days late to our destination but if we don't, we may never get there."

  "What's going on?" Goldie asked as she shut the door to my bridge. She collapsed in the seat next to me and held her head in her hands.

  "Andy's acting up and I don't think I can fix him. Do you know where the nearest repair base is? We're approaching Lumineria."

  "I can google it," she offered. "What's wrong besides the broken forward head?"

  "The refrigeration system and a long list of other stuff. I tell you, Goldie, on days like today I want to just chuck it all in and disappear. Maybe, I'll park my butt on that planet in Omega Centauri and build myself a log cabin in the woods."

  "Sounds nice," she mumbled. "It definitely has it's advantages."

  "You could come with me," I suggested, half joking and half not. "We could take it one day at a time and just see where it leads."

  "Ah, Zork." She offered me her funny crooked smile. "You just don't understand, do you? I'm not who you think I am."

  "I don't care who you think you are, Goldie. As far as I'm concerned you're just you and I'm me. Do you remember when we used to study together at the Academy? Do you remember what good times we had?"

  "I remember studying with you once or twice before you got expelled."

  "Fair enough, but that once or twice was still memorable to me." I thought it was, but then again, I thought I had studied more than once or twice. Maybe I had studied with another girl or two before I took them off to bed. I had never bedded Goldie, or at least I didn’t remember it if I had. That's what made this challenge so much fun right now. I was missing her notch in my belt. "Come on, Princess," I declared, reaching across the seat to pull her against me. "Let's finish what we started back there and just see if it rings any bells."

  "Zork," she gasped as the cockpit door burst open and that dorky doctor guy fell through.

  "Oh my," he cried. "I thought this was the bathroom. Pardon me, did I interrupt again?"

  "No," Goldie declared.

  "Yes," I disagreed. "Can't you read the fucking sign outside the door? Furthermore, the forward head is broken and right now, it's all backed up. You had better get your ass to the rear of the plane."

  "I'm really, really sorry, really," the doctor guy stuttered. "I'll just head back there." He pointed. "Back over there you said. Did I hear that right?"

  "I'll show you," Goldie sighed and rose to her feet. "Zork, since you don't need me, I'm going to get some sleep for a little while. Come on, Michael, the head's right here. Do you see that yellow light above the door? If it's on, someone is in it. If it's off, it's all yours."

  "Oh gosh, that makes sense, doesn't it?" The doctor pushed his glasses up his nose and followed her.

  I stood up and watched them from the cockpit door feeling oddly possessive. That idiot was trying to move in on my territory.

  "So, uh, Katie," he continued, stuttering. "Uh, have you ever been to Omega Centauri? I know you were in Spaceforce for a number of years."

  "No, I haven't been there," Goldie replied. "Why do you ask?"

  "I think you'll really like it. I bet i
t will remind you of somewhere else."

  "Why do you think that? How do you have any idea of which places will remind me of what?"

  The doctor shrugged and smiled. "It had to be something I read about you. Do you know if you google your name, you'll get forty million hits?"

  "Yeah, I heard that. Right now, I just wish I could delist myself from the galaxy wide web."

  The doctor thought this was funny and laughed in a voice too high. "I just can't believe that I'm standing here talking to you. Do you know I have your picture in my office? It sits in a frame upon my desk so I can talk to you even though you're not really there."

  "That's nice, Michael," Goldie winced. "I'm getting tired, so I really am going to bed. Have a nice night. I hope that couch isn't too lumpy."

  "I'll be fine," the doctor insisted. "I can sleep anywhere at all. I can sleep on the floor, on the sidewalk, or even a tree."

  Goldie's eyes grew wide as she stared up at that goofy doctor's face. "That's great, Michael. I'm sure the couch is much more comfortable than the floor. See you in the morning. It's been fun...really."

  "See you!" the doctor called and waved as Goldie walked away. "I'm looking forward to it! I'll see you as soon as I get up!" He had a big smile plastered across his dorky face. Then, he turned back to me and pointed his finger. "I'll see you too, Captain Zork." He winked.

  "Right you are, buddy," I replied, deciding right then and there, that guy wasn't coming anywhere near my cabin. "Enjoy the couch, Doc. Let me know if you need an extra pillow or two."

  He moved his finger like he was shooting a gun. "Right," he echoed and went into the can.

  "What a loser," I told Andy after I had shut and locked the cockpit door. "I think I'll charge Taner double what I originally estimated."

  "Why not?" Andy changed back to my favorite buxom girl. Although, with Goldie in back, I didn't really feel much like flirting with my droid. "Do you want Mandy to come along too?" Andy simpered, and a moment later, red-headed naked Mandy appeared.

  "Sorry, dolls, I'm not in the mood tonight."

  "Is it because of that woman?" Andy demanded. He morphed into his old fat self. "I told you, Zork, don't get yourself mixed up with her."

  "I can't help the way I feel," I tried to explain. "She's bringing back all these old memories. Plus she's so sad and vulnerable, I feel like she just needs me to take care of her."

  "She's not vulnerable in the least! She's got a Glock stuffed in the back of her pants. You had better watch out if you want to keep your balls intact."

  "Now, Andy, don't start that again. I'm just going to have to shut you down for the night. In the morning, you'll have your last chance to fix the boxes. If you can't get them running at least part time, we really are going to have to stop for service. If we do, I swear to you, buddy, I'm going to go through with the upgrade."

  "I'll work on it, Zork," Andy promised. "You've boxed me into the proverbial corner. I'll think of everything that I can while I'm in sleep mode."

  "Goodnight, pal, I said, powering him down.

  Afterward, I got up to get myself a beer from the galley. That odd doctor guy was on the couch, his feet propped up on the side. He was snoring like a freightplane running the old style dilithium engines. I tiptoed past him, but I must have woken him anyway because he coughed and choked and then opened his eyes to look at me.

  Pulling his glasses down from the top of his head, he called "Captain Zork, have you got half a minute? I was thinking about the problem you've got with your android and black boxes."

  "How do you know about the problem?" I asked, opening the fridge to pull out a warm bottle.

  "Well, your forward head doesn't work, and your refrigerator's heating more than cooling. Doesn't that mean your system is malfunctioning? I've got an idea where the problem may be. It was written in an old style code that had a whole bunch of holes and even more bugs. If you check the main controller, verify that the secondary diodes aren't totally fried. After you've done that, run anti-virus subroutines independently on all your kernel scheduled algorithms and space applications."

  "Ok," I replied dumbfounded. "I'll tell Andy to check into that. Hey Doc, how come you know so much about software that runs a spaceship?"

  He shrugged and lay back down. "I read about it somewhere, I think. Anyway, that should solve your problem and make your droid extremely happy. Goodnight again, Captain Zork. It sure is fun traveling out here with you. I'm looking forward to taking that worm tunnel through the black hole."

  "How’d you know about that?" I demanded. "Don't tell me you study astro-navigation in your spare time."

  He shrugged again and took off his glasses to sleep. "I know about a lot of stuff, Captain Zork. Even stuff you don't want me to know. Take my advice, what you're looking for isn't going to be found right here."

  Then, he winked at me and snuggled up to his pillow. I had no clue what he was talking about. All I was looking for right now was to have a little fun with my old friend that Golden girl.

  "That Doc is one totally odd duck," I told Andy when I powered him up again. "Go check out his suggestions anyway. If you can fix it before the morning, we'll be able to stay on course without stopping anywhere for repair service. We'll hit the worm tunnel tomorrow night and be right on schedule to Omega Centauri. Maybe, if we get there early I can even squeak out a little bonus from Taner."

  "There's something awfully strange about that doctor guy," Andy agreed before he headed off to the black box bay. "There's something about him that's bothering me, but I can't pinpoint exactly what it is."

  "He's similar to a lot of other geeky guys I've known. If he's right and fixes you, it'll save me a whole bunch of money."

  "And I'll be able to stay myself," Andy replied. "I'm really used to me as I am. I sure would hate to have to metamorphose into something new."

  "Me too, old buddy," I declared and toasted him with a long swig on my beer. "Now go on. Fix up your boxes and your code and then we'll be in good shape."

  "On my way, Captain." Andy saluted and disappeared, so I settled back in my chair to drive this old tub to Omega Centauri all by myself.

  I sang a bunch of country songs. I played air guitar on my five-string, and I drummed some sticks on my console until I accidentally pushed a bunch of buttons. I finished a six pack of beer while everyone on my freightplane slept until the wee hours of the morning when Goldie arrived to take over the com. I stretched and studied her sleepy curly blonde head and decided that weird Doc had got it wrong. What I was looking for was right here next to me.

  "Good morning, sunshine. You're already brightening up my day."

  "Hey, Zork." She yawned and smiled.

  "Did you get a good night's sleep?"

  "Mhm. I always sleep best when I'm out in space. Now it's your turn to go catch some Z's. I'll take over here for a while but be quiet on your way back to your cabin. The doctor is sound asleep on the couch."

  "I will," I replied and considered making a comment about her coming back to my cabin with me. I didn't though. I decided I wasn't going to play those games with Goldie anymore. If she was running from some ass of husband, I wasn't going to be that kind of guy too. I'd treat her with the respect and the courtesy she deserved. "Good night, Katie," I said. "Or good morning, whatever it is. I really appreciate your assistance in flying this tub."

  "No worries, Scott. It's been my absolute pleasure to help. I have really missed being out here among the stars. It's been nearly twenty years since I was last in command of my own ship."

  "This old freightplane hardly compares to a Spaceforce starship." For the first time ever, I was embarrassed by my plane.

  "It doesn't matter what kind of plane it is. It could be a bicycle for all I care. We're out here in the space doing something we think is right. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to fly. You're helping me to remember just exactly who I am. Now go get some rest before we dive into that worm tunnel tonight."

  "Aye Aye, Captain Kate," I
said and shut the door to my bridge.

  Tiptoeing past the snoring doctor, I went to my cabin and climbed in my bed. My head was full of dreams, and that was before I fell asleep, where I didn't see any dreams at all.

  Chapter 12

  Taner

  "How are you feeling?" I touched my wife's forehead as if my hand could gauge her temperature better than the SdK monitor next to her bed.

  "Oh, I'm fine." She took the water glass from Joanne and leaned forward to sip from the straw.

  I steadied her hand and held the straw to her lips while Joanne went off to the galley to get some of the broth that Luci was cooking.

  "How's Joanne doing?" Now, setting the glass down on the folding tray, I helped Caroline to lean back on the pillows. "Is she as angry and cold as yesterday or has she warmed up a little?"

  "Maybe a little warmer," Caroline replied with a sigh. "I just wish we had more time. I wish we could have met in better circumstances."

  "If you weren't so sick, she wouldn't have come," Michael said as he entered the small cabin. "Sometimes really rotten things have to happen just so good things can result."

  "Now that's true," Caroline agreed, her face brightening up as Michael put his hand on her forehead just as I had done. "I can say that with all of this bad, I've surely been blessed to meet you, Michael. Just looking at you makes me want to jump out of this bed and dance."

  "It's the bowtie," Michael nodded. "Now you know the truth why I wear it. For a really severe case, I don a top hat and cane." He adjusted some settings on the Patient Care Monitoring System.

  "So are we to conclude the situation is hopeless when you show up in a tuxedo and tails?"

  "You're a funny guy, Lord Taner." Michael turned and pointed his finger at me. "Things are never going to be that bad with you, Lady Caroline. I'm certain our treatment plan is just what you need."

  "Here's your soup, Auntie Caroline.” RJ shoved open the door with her foot and carefully carried the bowl. Her long braids swung about, and one ended up in the soup. "Oh my gosh!" she cried and nearly sent the whole bowl toppling.